Originally Posted by
GNRMatt
I have to take a bit of issue with the sarcasm here. If someone purchases a product, it's reasonable to assume that the business will provide the product promised when purchased. In the case of transportation, the schedule is an important part of your purchase, hence why prices vary depending on the schedule.
With the exception of a weather delay, ATC delay or any other delay that is out of the airline's hands, it is reasonable to expect an airline to be able to keep their schedule. For a mechanical issue, that is the airline's responsibility. They need to keep their aircraft in working order to meet their schedule. If they cannot do this and it has an effect on a customer's plans and an effect on the product they purchased, they should 100% make their opinions known to the airline, and if they feel it is necessary, asking for a partial refund is perfectly acceptable.
Agree with this. When purchasing tickets, I always give myself at least an hour's margin of (airline) error when making plans. If I arrive an hour late, it's not ideal, but I'm never angry or surprised. A three hour delay, however, isn't a reasonable thing to have to plan for; this goes beyond the customer's responsibility to prepare for disruptions.
As a practical matter, if I have a meeting I absolutely cannot miss or be late for, I'll fly in the day before. I have no idea what inconveniences OP suffered as a result of the delay, but I don't think he is being ridiculous. In my experience, I've generally sent in complaints when I've had disruptive changes to my travel plans due to mechanical delays, and airlines have generally been amenable to making things right.